Oduahgate: Disquiet in NCAA over Jonathan’s panel

There is disquiet in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over the setting up of a three-man administrative panel of inquiry by President Goodluck Jonathan to probe the circumstances surrounding the purchase of two armoured vehicles worth $1.4 million (870,000 euros) allegedly for Aviation Minister Stella Oduah.

Some senior officials of the NCAA and other ranks consider the panel as a face-saving measure to shield the embattled minister from indictment and prevent the public from having first- hand knowledge of what really transpired on the purchase of the armoured vehicles.

It was gathered that several officials of the agency likely to be questioned over the issue prefer an independent intervention or probe into the matter from outside the presidency.

A concerned member of staff said: “The fear here now is about justice being done by this panel. The minister represents the executive arm of government here at NCAA. The president heads that executive arm of government.

“The minister and the executive are in the same political party and they are political associates.

“We are close to an election year and the president is the one who instituted the panel to look into this matter. We are not convinced that the panel will not out of political expediency, shield the minister from indictment and in the process get some other people to carry the burden of blame.”

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the current anxiety in the agency was sparked by an alleged directive from the Aviation ministry that no official of the NCAA should speak to anybody on the issue.

“During the week, we got a directive from the ministry barring everybody, even top officials of the agency, from talking to any individual or agency on the matter. We even learnt that we are not allowed to go before the panel to present our view on the matter.

“We see this as a sign of things to come. Once we are unable to tell the panel what we know, then the panel will work with whatever it is able to gather from the few people authorised to appear before it by the same ministry it is supposed to investigate,” another source said.

It was also learnt that most of the top shots of the agency are unhappy with the position taken by the management of the NCAA on the scandal.

According to sources, many of the officials were shocked that the agency, through its recent statements on the matter, is claiming responsibility for the decision to purchase the vehicles.

“It is also worrisome that the agency is saying it suggested the purchase of the vehicles. The ministry and not the NCAA should take responsibility. The idea came from the ministry.

“Even after the National Assembly refused to approve a proposal taken before it by the NCAA for the purchase of the vehicles, the ministry forced the agency to go ahead through a ministerial approval. The records are there.

“To raise the money for the controversial vehicle, the agency entered into a hired purchase deal with a bank and the car dealer. The cost of that deal was borne by the agency.

“The agency did that when the pressure became unbearable that the vehicles must be bought for the minister. The deal I can tell you was based on anticipatory payment,” an NCAA source revealed.

Asked why the ministry approached the agency to buy the vehicles, sources said it is not the first time that would be happening.

“Nearly all the ministers that have been in the ministry did something similar. Perhaps because the NCAA is a major foreign currency-earning institution under the ministry, most transactions that would require hard currency are routed through the agency.

“The truth is that the purchase of the vehicles generated a lot of issues here at NCAA. This was because we had a lot of issues left unattended to by the management for years.

“So when the idea of buying armoured vehicles for the minister came up, it was strongly opposed by the top echelon of the agency.

“That is why we are talking about a whistleblower from within the agency today. But somehow, the management got hoodwinked into playing along with the ministry and here we are today.”